Editing Leviathan:Volume 2 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 4===

After Sophocles' departure, Hal pulled himself together, only to find that the bill had also vanished from the table.

He called the waitress to confirm and discovered that everyone's order had been paid for, apparently the doing of the man in the black suit when he left.

"He does things quite thoughtfully for someone who's clearly involved with dragons..."

Collapsing in his chair in exhaustion, Hal muttered.

Then he turned his tired eyes towards Hinokagutsuchi who was seated directly opposite him.

"Personally, I'd really like to think that more than half of what he said was total bullshit."

"It is your freedom to do so. The truth is that you will experience it personally sooner or later. It is quite unimportant whether the timing is slightly hastened or postponed."

Hal instantly felt a wave of fatigue from hearing this kind of answer that evaded all responsibility. Hal worried whether the dragonslaying rune's excessive firepower could entail some kind of troublesome trap&mdash;

"Just for reference, let me ask a question. Does your appearance change into a dragon when you become a dragon king?"

"It is not entirely uncommon to dragonify even without becoming king, assuming the dragonslaying rune turns into a weapon to make its wielder closer to a dragon."

"......"

"But there is no need to be too concerned. Relax."

Despite asking him to relax, Hinokagutsuchi's tone of voice was not gentle at all.

"Whether humans or dragons, the majority of those who obtain the power of dragonbane will die before it matures. A moment's carelessness during successive challenges from Zizou and they end up slaughtered as usurpers."

"I see..."

"I cannot think of even one reason why you will become a rare exception."

"Thank you for your heartwarming provision of information. It's definitely a valuable reference."

Sighing deeply with mixed emotions, Hal muttered:

"So that's what you meant when you told me not to thank you for saving my life..."

"Hmph, if you had burned to death there, you could have died normally."

After grumbling about something said in the past, Hinokagutsuchi rose from her seat.

Hal did not know if she was concerned about the gazes of bystanders, but she did not vanish instantaneously. Instead, she walked out of the cafe on her own two feet.

"Struggle all you like. Ultimately, if you manage to become the greatest hero of the era, perhaps you might even be able to advance 'farther along.'"

Leaving these words behind, Hinokagutsuchi departed.

Only Hal and Orihime were left at the cafe's open-air seating.

However, Hal had no energy to spare towards attending to the girl sharing his table. He simply sat there, spacing out.

A human turning into a dragon&mdash;How could there be something so absurd? But that happening to himself was definitely a possibility.

Things were getting more and more ridiculous.

Although he was not the type to revel in angst-filled monologue to curse destiny, he still needed plenty of venting. Like 'give me a fucking break.'

"What a pain..."

Just as Hal was muttering quietly to himself...

The girl seated to him, looking at him in worry, suddenly asked:

"So, Haruga-kun, are you free today?"

"Huh?"

"Regardless of whether you're free or not... Would you like to go on a date with me later?"

Suddenly making a suggestion, Orihime had recovered her usual cheer.

"Aren't we going to be fighting the silver dragon next? I was thinking we should relax a bit before that."

"I suppose you may have a point..."

"We ought to be entitled to taking out one day of the break for a change of pace, right?"

Orihime was probably making this suggestion in concern for Hal's low spirits. Hal's ability to read the mood was not so poor that he would fail to notice this&mdash;

Hal smiled faintly. He tried his best to calm his mind and pull himself together.

After roughly twenty seconds of silence, Hal gave a very uncharacteristic answer.

"Yes. Indeed, a date every now and then would be nice."


Thirty minutes later, Hal and Orihime arrived at a cinema's lobby.

Hal did not know if the recent "Dragon Appearance in Yokohama!" headline was to blame, but the crowd was rather thin despite the current extended holiday.

Orihime checked the list of movies available and said:

"I ask this only because I am convinced the following statement is absolutely impossible."

"What?"

"Haruga-kun, you are a seasoned veteran in the battlefield known as the dating scene, having gone on countless dates with the ladies&mdash;Oh, I mean girls other than Asya-san&mdash;How's that? If that were the case, I was thinking I could simply leave everything to you as my escort."

The beautiful classmate looked mischievously at Hal's face from beside him.

"Or should I treat you as a recruit who has never seen actual combat?"

"So you're belittling my ability?"

"Rather than belittling, it would be better to say I am trying to analyze your strength as calmly as possible."

"Don't underestimate me&mdash;"

"If you have the guts to say 'I want you' explicitly, Haruga-kun, I will prostrate myself and apologize to you."

"...You in prostration, now that's something I'd like to see."

"Fufu. Your reaction is exactly as I predicted. I guess I should go easy on you with the comments."

"But wait, Juujouji. If you're saying that, can I treat you as a seasoned veteran?"

"Eh, me?"

"If that's the case, please offer guidance on how to navigate this battlefield. After all, you totally called my experience level. I'm really looking forward to your exciting stories."

"Uh, well..."

"Given our friendship, there's no need to be shy, right?"

"Ahem. A novice would do well to find a fellow novice to make plans through detailed discussion, then slowly decide the route to climb the mountain. That is what I believe to be the proper way."

Orihime waggled her index finger while deliberately putting on a serious face.

"So, Haruga-kun, let's discuss which movie we are going to watch. I'm very curious about that ''Mr. Hawkwood''."

"Let's see... 'The heroic exploits of a mercenary during the darkness of medieval Europe. A tale of iron, blood and trickery, where betrayal and murderous hostility only serves to make oneself stronger. Fight, Hawkwood. This is the first neighborhood of Hell..." Hmm, there isn't a single actress among the main cast. I think it'll be very interesting."

Orihime was pointing to a poster whose color theme was dark overall, without any glamor to speak of.

The protagonist depicted in the photo was clad in a matching set of an iron helmet, plate armor and chain mail covering his entire body.

He had his weapon raised high. A large war hammer, in other words, a steel shaft fitted with a heavy weight on one end. Because blades were ineffective against enemies protected by full-body armor, bludgeoning enemies to death was the solution. How old school to choose such a weapon. Too old school.

"But is this a movie that should be watched by two people going on their first date together?"

"Then how about 'My Neighbor Seki 3'? Or 'From a Board Game on a School Desk to a New World. The World Cup this time! Fight on Japan's behalf!' That's what's written there."

"I'd watch this one even if I were by myself. I'd most likely buy the DVD too."

In fact, diabetes-inducing romance movies were also showing.

However, they did not seem to catch Orihime's eyes at all. In this regard, one might say that she was truly living up to her past nickname as the "Kotengu of Fukakawa." In any case, after some discussion, Hal and Orihime decided to watch a popular action movie adapted from an American comic.

Taking out their own money to buy their respective tickets, choosing two neighboring seats.

After a slight pause to think, Orihime bought a large size popcorn as well.

Before the movie started, the two of them entered the dimmed interior and took their seats. Orihime immediately proceeded to put down the bucket of popcorn between herself and Hal.

"Sharing the same bucket of popcorn between the two of us, doesn't this make it seem like we're a real couple? In a fashion&mdash;No, since it's a rare ''date'' after all, this is the bare minimum."

Orihime smiled, leaned over from the adjacent seat and whispered with her face up close.

Hal felt inexplicably frightened by this. Then the movie finally began.

After fully enjoying the two-hour show, the two of them went on to have lunch together.

As befitted their identity as high school students, they went to a fast food joint next to the cinema and ordered from the set menu. Then taking a brief walk towards the Sumida River, they arrived at a riverside park.

A sunny May afternoon. The gentle breeze blowing across the riverside felt very comfortable.

"If you're okay with it, how about I treat you to something as thanks for today?"

"I can't think of a reason why you need to treat me... But since you brought it up already, I'll take you up on the offer."

Orihime smiled in response when Hal made his suggestion in front of a soft drink vending machine.

He bought two cans of green tea and passed one to Orihime. Although he felt that this gift was too cheap, at least it counted as a sincere gesture of gratitude.

Looking out to the Sumida River together, side by side, Hal and Orihime began drinking their tea.

"Do I actually look that depressed?"

"A little. Your countenance is haggard and the usual poker face is nowhere to be seen."

"Oh dear."

"But now, you look more like the usual Haruga-kun."

Orihime smiled demurely.

Haruga Haruomi was not an indomitable tough guy. Consequently, if he looked like he had recovered his vigor, it was probably thanks to her, even though Orihime was clearly the one who was about to fight an elite dragon for the second time. Furthermore, she had entered the world of witches only recently.

In terms of being in a difficult predicament, she and Hal were not too different.

Hal took a deep breath and said, "I've recalled the magic words that are particularly effective in times like these."

"What are they?"

"'We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.' Think about it, it's not like we're out of options immediately. It'd be more constructive to prioritize weapons that are effective against elites."

Hal deliberately extolled optimism. However, there was nothing he could do when they reached the "bridge" for real.

He hoped that his future self would have the ability to evade danger...

"Given this rare chance, allow me to make thorough and effective use of this burdensome rune. So long as Asya-san, Rushalka and I are together, there will surely be a way to use it."

"Needless to say, I'll help out too. That goes without saying."

After Hal smiled in an intentionally frivolous manner, Orihime added, "I really wish that rune could be used on my Akuro-Ou too."

"I agree but we can't help it if it doesn't work."

"Yes. Then I've decided to stop worrying. No matter how powerful the enemy, Haruga-kun, I believe you will activate that incomprehensible superpower to rescue us with perfect timing just like in manga."

"Are you sure it's okay to expect someone like me to turn in a performance like in a hot-blooded shounen manga?" Hal disagreed tactfully in the face of Orihime's optimism.

However, she smiled and was not bothered by it.

"Don't worry. Although it does feel like a miscast, Haruga-kun, you are a boy after all. Where there is a will, there is a way."

"Unfounded idealism will only lead to failure, right...?"

"Is there anything wrong with idealism? The likes of a man's pride and honor are things that I don't dislike."

Hal found it difficult to argue against that.

Although he was not a witch himself, Hal was her senior in the business. However, all he had done today was cause Orihime to worry about him the whole time. Wasn't it time for his turn to look after her?

This concerned "a man's honor." Hal did his best to speak casually.

"Got it. I'll try my best to handle things appropriately."

"You should act cool in times like these and assert 'I will protect you no matter what' without any basis or vision. That would be the correct answer in shounen manga, right?"

Orihime seemed quite familiar with manga aimed at that particular demographic.

Finding her reading habits quite fitting for a self-styled "tomboy," Hal could not suppress a wry smile.

"Going along with your line of thinking, I'll also need narrow vision and excessive narcissism in addition to honor and pride. That's setting the bar a bit too high&mdash;However."

Without averting his eyes away from the especially dazzling Orihime, Hal said, "I will try my hardest to handle things appropriately. Honestly."

His voice sounded even more serious than he had imagined.